John and I have been friends since our high school swim coach (also happens to be his brother in law), Kent, introduced us at the beginning of high school. I’m not quite sure how we got interested in cycling, but we both saved our money in high school to buy really nice touring bikes and have been pedaling ever since.

When we were in high school, a lot of the BikeCentennial riders from ‘76 and the following years would come through town, and riding the TransAmerica Trail has been on my bucket list since then. 

When John asked me over lunch if I wanted to ride with him from Oregon to Colorado I said sure, but that I was going to keep on pedaling to the East Coast after we got back here. John didn’t have much to say about it at the time, but called me a few days later to ask me if I was serious about riding the whole country, and that if I was, he was in too. So here we are. 

I’m very excited about this ride, but also a bit scared – it’s a big undertaking!

Like John, I’m mainly doing this to go for a long ride. But also to have time to think if this sabbatical might turn into early retirement; as well as to detox from technology, the news, and two plus years of COVID. I just want to pedal and see America roll by, meet lots of nice people, and worry about nothing more than where I’m going to find food and where to sleep that night. 

Anyway, if you’d like to know a little more about me, check out another adventure I had a couple of years ago at: seriouslyantarctica.blogspot.com